Improvement in machines for melting snow



0. G WATERBURY. Machines fo rlelting Snow.

Patented Dec. 8,1874.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES G. WATERBURY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FoR MEVLTING snow.

Specification forming part ofL etters Patent No. 157,559, dated December8,1874; application filed August 29, 1874.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, CHARLES G. WATER- BURY,of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new andImproved Machine for Removing Snow and Ice from Roadways, of which thefollowing is a specification:

The essential feature of this invention consists of a series of burnersfor hydrocarbon oils, or vapors thereof, arranged on a portable machine,incombination with a reservoir or a retort and suitable pipe-connectionsfor supplying the oils, or vapors thereof, to the burners, thearrangement being such that when vapors are burned they will bedischarged in to the burners with the requisite force by means ofpressure in the retort, to drive the flame down on the snow and ice tobe melted with great force; The invention also consists of thecombination, with the above, of a steam boiler and pipes, fordischarging steam-jets into the burners, or below them, to combine withthe vapors or oils both for impelling the flame and for increasing theheat.

The burners receive the oil or vapors at the top, and the steam iseither admitted to the top or discharged at the orifice below, andforces the flame with great velocity directly on the surface of the snowor ice. The steam will be discharged into the burner at the top whenheavy oils are used, in order to vaporize them, the oils beingpreferably discharged upon a plate or pan for spreading and holdingthem, to be acted on by the steam.

The burners are contrived to greatly facilitate the supplyof oxygen inlarge measure .for effecting the most perfect combustion by having afunnel-shaped top and perforated sides for the drawing in of largequantities of air by the force of the jets of vapor, which will beimpelled by such pressure in the retort or boiler as to produce avelocity of twelve hundred feet or thereabout per second, which isnecessary to effectually prevent the flame from spreading out laterallyand losing its force, and to project it upon the snow and ice with therequisite force for melting fast enough while moving slowly along theroadway, to render the machine practically useful.

The steam-pipe will be arranged outside of the burner-tube whendischarging at the bottom, in order not to interfere with the drawing inof the air through the perforations in the sides, by being forced down i1 a strong jet in the center and drawing the air from all (lirections.The burners are arranged a short distance apart, in a row extendingcrosswise of the machine, to clear a breadth about equal to the breadthof the track at each passage, and they will preferably be at the frontof the machine.

7 The oil, vapor, and steam are, in this example, generated in boilerscarried on the ma chine, both being contrived in one structure, andheated by one furnace, and by the combustion of vapor from theoil-vaporizer; and the melting-burners are fired from this furnace, andthe products of combustion in it are, after passing through the boiler,carried off through the melting-burners, for utilizing the heat formelting purposes, and as the best means of disposing of them, as, afterpassing through the burners and coming in contact with the cold ice andsnow, they are confined thereon until they escape at the rear end of themachine, and are thus cooled and condensed so as to be less injuriouswhen finally escaping into space than if directly discharged .from thefurnace.

Another essential feature of the invention consists of runner-platesattached to the sides of the machine for closing in the space under themachine to'the ground, for confining the heat, the said plates beingcapable of rising and falling, as required by irregularity of thesurface, and for lifting them ofi' the ground when the machine is to beturned around, and they are provided with means for raising and loweringthem readily; and another essential feature of the invention is ahorizontal revolving brush of steel wires, closing in the under spaceimmediately in front of the burners, to prevent the escape of heat thatway, and to be used for stirring and breaking up and throwing theparticles of snow into the flames behind, when, by reason of beingpacked and saturated with water, the flames will not be sufficientlypenetrating.

Figure l is a plan view of my improved machine, with some parts shown Iin horizontal section. Fig. 2 is partly a side elevation and asmssodischarged at the top, together with oil to be vaporized by the steam.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

A represents a boiler or retort for vaporiz in g hydrocarbon substances,and B is a steamgenerator mounted on the body of a truck or car of anyapproved kind, having wheels 0 and D, and contrived to be drawn along acommon roadway or on a railway. These generators are, in this example,contrived in one shell or structure, and separated by a partition, E,but they may be arranged separately, if preferred. The steam-generatoris designed to be in communication with a water-chamber, F, in theplatform of the truck, through the sides G of the furnace, and the wateris to be supplied from a reservoir, H, by a pump or injector of anykind. This water-chamber F will be the main generator of steam, beingheated below by the heat forced down under it for melting the snow. Theoil-retort A will truck and in the back part of the furnace, be-

ing supported in the bed-plate or platform of the truck, so that the endout of which the flame issues is but a short distance above the ground,while the funnel-shaped receiving end for receiving the vapor or oil isabove, in the furnace, to insure a powerful combustion, and to affordmeans for utilizing the heat of the furnace itself for melting purposes,the same being delivered to the burners, through the revertible flue N,from the top of the boiler. The vapor from the retort is supplied to theburners by tubes 0, having a nozzle for discharging it in a forcible jetto convey it downward. P represents the steam -pipes for discharging thesteam-jets at the burners. These will extend down to the mouths of theburners, as in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, when vapor is to be burned; but, whenthe oil is to be delivered directly to the burners, they will dischargeat the top, as in Fig. 5, and in this case the oil will be dischargedfrom a pipe, Q, upon a pan or plate, It, for retaining and spreading it,so that the jet of steam which will be discharged at the edge of the panwill be enabled to act in the best manner for thoroughly vaporizing theoil. The steam-pipes P and the vapor-pipes 0 pass from the boiler andthe retort through the furnace, and directly over the burners K, inorder to superhcat the steam and vapor to prepare them for the mostperfect combustion, and the pipes have suitable cooks for regulating thequantities discharged. The oil-pipes Q will not pass through thefurnace, so as not to heat the oil until it comes to the burners. Thepipes L, for supplying vapor to the furnace-burners, may also extendinto the burners M, and discharge thereat. The furnaceburners might beattached to the vapor-pipes 0, but this would necessitate a cock betweenthem and the discharging-nozzle for each pipe to prevent the escape ofvapor while heating up to begin with, and at times when the machine willbe standing, and such cocks would be diflicult to keep tight and tomanipulate in consequence of being exposed to the fire.

By having separate pipes to each set of burners the cocks maybe placedoutside of the furnace, as at S T, where they will not be exposed to thefire, and can be managed better. When oil is discharged into the burnersM it may be necessary to have the small pipes L, or other small pipes,projecting into the burners to be used for lighting them, the vaporbeing generated in said pipes, to begin with, by fire of some kindsay, atorch held under them for a short time.

The burners M have perforations a in the sides, above the platform, forthe supply of oxygen, by means of air to be drawn in through thefurnace, or perforations in its sides,by the draft produced by thedischarge of the steam or vapor jets in the burner. A safety-valve, b,is provided to the retort, to guard against any injurious effect fromexcessive pressure that may accidentally occur, but it is not designedto raise the pressure of the vapor very high. The temperature of thevapor may be controlled while maintaining higher temperature on thesteam-boiler by opening and closing some of the burners K. 01 representsthe runners connected with the sides of the machine, for confining theheat-currents so as not to escape at the side plates 0, and guards f, tobe held upright, while being, at the same time, allowed to rise andfall, and they are connected, by chains or cords g h and a pulley, i,with a lever, j, arranged so that the driver can raise and lower them atwill. I is the brush of steel wires arranged at the front of the machineto prevent the escape of heat thereat, and to be used for breaking upthe packed snow to facilitate the melting of it. For this latter purposeit will be geared by means of belts and pulleys, or othercontrivances,with one of the wheels of the truck, to be revolvedthereby.

his roller is, in this example, mounted in the runners, so asto beraised and lowered with them; but it may be mounted independently ofthem, but it will be necessary to have it rise for convenience inturning the machine around.

Having thus described myinvention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent-- 1. The combination, in a portable machine,

of a series of hydrocarbon oil or vapor bnrners, M, to discharge theheat and flame upon ice and snow, a retort or reservoir, and pipes forsupplying oil or Vapor to the burners, substantially as described.

2. The combination, in a portable machine, of a series of hydrocarbonoil or vapor burners, to discharge the heat and flame upon ice and snow,a retort or reservoir, and pipes for supplying the oil or vapor to theburners, and

' a boiler and pipes for combining steam -jets 5. The combination of arevolving brush, Z,

with a portable ice and snow melting machine,

to rise and fall and open and close at the front end of themelting-space under the truck, substantially as specified.

6. The boiler, furnace, and its escape -passage, combined and arrangedwith the burners M, to cause the escaping heat to pass through and beutilized in the burners, substantially as specified. y

7. The combination of the water-chamber F over the melting-space and theboiler B, substantially as specified.

8. The combination, with the burner-tubes M, of a vapor-tube todischarge into the top, and a steam-pipe to discharge in or near thebottom of the same, substantially as specified.

c. e. WATERBURY.

